ieExplains: Leaving Certificate results

From August 25 to August 26, students will be able to log onto the Candidate Self Service Portal to access additional information about their exam results. File picture

What's happening on Friday?

From 10am, Leaving Certificate students will be able to access their results through the State Examinations Commission’s (SEC) Candidate Self Service Portal (CSSP) at www.examinations.ie.

I've received my Leaving Cert results, but I'm not happy with them?

From August 25 to August 26, students will be able to log onto the CSSP to access additional information about their exam results. 

Here, you will be able to view your marks, and how the post-marking adjustment applied to you, as well as the final graded mark for each subject. 

If you are very unhappy, it may be worth applying to check your exam scripts to see how you were marked in more detail. 

The viewing of exam scripts will take place in school and online on August 29. 

What if I view my exam scripts and I see I was marked incorrectly?

Students who noticed their marks were added up incorrectly when viewing their scripts have two options. 

They can opt to have the incorrect marking reviewed through the usual appeals process, or outside of that process.

However, the SEC will only process certain mistakes in this manner. 

These include cases where overall marks have been transcribed incorrectly, errors inputting marks into the exam database, and in cases where material belonging to a student has been matched incorrectly to the examination number of a different candidate.

As the turnaround times are so tight, the SEC also recommends applying through the usual appeals process route as well. 

Candidates who apply view manually marked scripts will be assigned to one of two three-hour sessions on August 29, while access to online scripts will become available for 24-hours between 9am, August 29, to 9am, August 30. 

What do I do if I want to appeal a grade?

Applications to appeal can only be made through the CSSP between 10am, August 30, and 5pm, August 31.

Applications are subject to a fee of €40 per subject, and €15.50 in the case of Leaving Certificate Applied. 

The appeal fee will be refunded if an upgrade is awarded. 

The SEC intends to issue the results of the appeals on September 25.

However, it said this date is provisional until the number of appeals is known. 

"Every effort will be made to process appeals as quickly as possible," a SEC spokeswoman said. 

I'm happy with my Leaving Cert results, what happens next?

Next week, offers for college courses will be out. The first round of offers for college courses will go to students on August 26.

They will be available from 2pm online and offers also issued by email and SMS text. 

The SEC will provide the CAO with your results directly.

This year, for the first time, some students may receive notification of their offer before 2pm.

CAO will begin emailing successful applicants in batches, with the first batch of emails issuing just after noon next Wednesday.

Head of communications for CAO, Eileen Keleghan, said that students who do not receive this email should not worry, as they will be able to able to check if they have received an offer from 2pm.

Level 8 and Level 7/6 offers will also issue in the same email, when previously, these offers issued in separate emails.

Unsuccessful applicants will receive a Statement of Application email asking them to check their account information to ensure that there are no errors or omissions that may have resulted in them missing out on an offer.

Are the CAO points likely to go up or down following Leaving Cert 2026?

Predicting how CAO will change from year to year is far from an exact science. 

Cut-off points are determined by demand and supply, and are impacted by everything from the creation of additional college places, to wider trends and everything in between.